Employee safety and accountability methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for verifying and monitoring employees are provided. Employees call-in to the system at scheduled times. If an employee misses a scheduled call-in, an alert can be generated. An employer notification process can generate the alert, notifying a supervisor of the employee&#39;s missed call. The alert can include the employee&#39;s name, the location of the employee, and the time he/she was supposed to call. Such systems and methods can be used to verify that a worker is at the proper location at the proper time and awake and alert during the entire time period that he/she is supposed to be working.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/870,104, filed Apr. 25, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,639,597, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/862,957, filed Sep. 27,2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,484,107. The entire teachings of the aboveapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Many employees do not work in a single location. Many care providers,for example, provide essential help to patients, particularly theelderly and those in need of medical aid, at their respective homes orother location due to the patient's difficulty or inability to leave hisor her home or residence. This care may include the administration ofpharmaceutical drugs, physical therapy, conversation, food, bathing, orthe like. Many of these patients depend heavily upon the servicesprovided by their care providers.

The care providers may begin their shifts by calling-in or arriving attheir patients' location. However, most of these employees' shifts arespent without any direct supervision by the employer. Unfortunately, itis not uncommon for an employee to take advantage of the lack ofsupervision and either show up late for his shift, leave early from hisshift, or not show up at all. In addition, it is possible for anemployee to make a mistake and to go to the wrong place (location)without realizing it. These problems are further compounded by virtue ofthe fact that many of the employees' patients are elderly,developmentally impaired and are either afraid to complain or do notrealize that the care provider is not fulfilling his responsibilities.In addition, once on the job, some employees may not stay awake tofulfill their job obligations and thus expose their patients tosignificant risks.

Yet another concern involves the safety of the care provider. Asmentioned, the care providers often meet the patients at an unfamiliaror unknown location. For cost reasons, the care providers are oftenalone and by themselves. While the care provider can take someprecautions, the situation is sometimes dangerous by nature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A computer implemented system and method for monitoring employees isprovided. An interactive voice response system receives audio dataproviding a representation of an employee, for example including arepresentation of the employee's voice. The interactive voice responsesystem processes the employee audio data to determine time and locationparameters. The collected data is used to verify the employee's presence(location, whereabouts, or the like). For instance, the employee audiodata can include an employee identifier (PIN), date/time and locationinformation (phone number employee is calling from, etc.). An alertsystem generates an alert in response to a potential problem conditiondetected. The potential problem condition is detected using definedexpectations for the employee audio data. The defined expectationsinclude a scheduled location and a scheduled time frame for the employeeaudio data.

A potential problem condition can be detected by the alert system if thescheduled location and the determined location are not substantially thesame. A potential problem condition can be detected by the alert systemif the scheduled time frame and the determined time are notsubstantially the same. The scheduled time frame and the determined timeare determined to be substantially the same if the difference betweenthe scheduled time frame and the determined time frame is below athreshold time frame. The threshold time frame can be fifteen minutes.

The alert system includes a supervisor profile implementation processthat enables a supervisor to define preferences for receiving alerts inresponse to potential problem conditions detected. The definedsupervisor preferences for receiving alerts in response to potentialproblem conditions include a supervisor notification preference. Thesupervisor notification preference enables the supervisor to define thetype of alert to be received. The type of alert can be any of thefollowing: an instant message, a telephone call, voicemail message, oran email. The defined supervisor preferences in the alert system can bespecified by the supervisor using a web-based interface to the alertsystem. The defined expectations can be defined by the supervisor usingthe web-based interface.

Information concerning the employee audio data and problem conditionsare stored in a secure database. The database includes a third partyverification log providing information about the employee at thedetermined geographic location (e.g. information used to assist in theverification of the employee's location and information about theemployee's call-in times). The database includes security protectionmeasures that inhibit accessing and tampering with the database by theemployee. The third party verification log has a secure architecturethat enables it to be used (for example, as evidence in litigation) toverify the employee's actions at work.

The interactive voice response system includes a voice packetizer thatprocesses the employee audio data into packets for handling by theinteractive voice response system. A telephony server system interfaceswith the voice packetizer. The telephony server system executes acomputer telephony integration application that, in combination with thevoice packetizer, implements the interactive voice response system. Withthis architecture, the telephony server system can handle and monitorincoming voice calls from the employee.

At least a portion of the employee audio data is a pre-recorded audiofile or a dynamically generated audio stream. An authentication processis in communication with the interactive voice response system. Theauthentication process compares at least a portion of the employee audiodata with a previously stored sample of the employee's voice. Theauthentication process confirms the authenticity of the employee audiodata by verifying that the portion of the employee audio data and thepreviously stored employee voice sample are substantially the same. Theauthentication process can verify the authenticity of the employee audiodata using an employee identifier (PIN), date/time and locationinformation (detected phone number employee is calling from, etc.)

The present computer implemented systems and methods can be used toverify that a worker is at the proper location at the proper time andawake and alert during the scheduled call-in times.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one possible embodiment of theverification system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of the overall methodof the verification system shown in FIG. 1 according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of the verificationact of the verification system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the main processing unit in variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the computer system architecture of theemployee verification system according to various embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 6A-6C are screenshots of the interface of an example portalaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7A is an example of a monthly report generated by the alert system.

FIG. 7B is an example of a daily report generated by the alert system.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computer node (e.g. client or server)implementing the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A description of example embodiments of the invention follows.

Monitoring and Verification System

The present invention generally relates to employee monitoring andverification systems and more particularly, relates to systems andmethods for verifying that an employee is at his or her appointed postof employment and that the employee is awake at the time they call intothe system. As shown in FIG. 1, the verification system 10 and method200, FIG. 2, is used to monitor that an individual 12, such as anemployee or the like, is awake/alert and/or at the correctdestinations/locations 14. The verification system 10 features a mainprocessing unit or contact center 16 that is connected to a network 18using any communication connection 20 (either wired or wireless) knownin the art. The destinations/locations 14 are typically individual homesor the like where care needs to be provided and preferably feature acommunication device 22 such as, but not limited to, a telephone,computer, or the like that is connected to the network 18 using anycommunication connection 24 such as, but not limited to, the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), cell phone, cable, Internet,satellite or the like. For illustrative purposes only, the presentinvention will be described with respect to an individual employee 12 atrespective work site (location 14) though this is not a limitation ofthe present invention.

In practice, each employee 12 who is to be monitored is given a personalidentification number (PIN) that is used to identify the employee anddata regarding employee's schedule is entered into the main processingunit 16 (act 210, FIG. 2). The data includes contact information andscheduling information. The scheduling information includes thelocations 14 where the employee is supposed to go and at what times theemployee is supposed to be at each location. Parameters are preferablyset that define a time and time interval (frequency or period) in whichthe employee is supposed to log into the verification system 10 and arepreferably set by a supervisor (act 220).

Once the employee 12 arrives at a client's location 14′ (act 230), theemployee 12 contacts the main processing unit 16 from the client'slocation 14 (act 240) and enters the employee's PIN (act 250). In thepreferred embodiment, the employee 12 contacts the main processing unit16 using the client's communication device 22, preferably a telephone.Alternatively, the employee 12 may send a fax, email, text message, orthe like utilizing any technology that allows the system 16 to identifythe employee 12 and to identify that the employee 12 is at the specifiedand expected location 14 and not somewhere else. The main processingunit 16 records the PIN, time, date, and location (act 260). Theemployee 12 continues to be required to contact the system 16 atregular, specified intervals during his or her shift to ensure that theemployee is at the right location and awake at the time they call intothe system.

As will be explained in greater detail below, the main processing unit16 also determines if the employee's 12 parameters have been met (act270). If the employee 12 has finished her/her shift (decision 280), theemployee 12 may log out of the verification system 10 by contacting themain processing unit 16 and entering his/her PIN (act 290) or the system16 may simply not expect any further employee generated communicationsor log-ins for that day or shift duration. The main processing unit 16records the PIN, time, date and location (act 300) and optionallyverifies this data against the employee's 12 parameters (act 310)previously set and hence predefined (at 220) by, for example, asupervisor that has assigned the employee to a certain job and workshift. The act of verifying this data (act 310) is preferablysubstantially the same as act 270 described in greater detail below.

If the employee 12 has not finished his/her shift (decision 280), theemployee 12 arrives at the next client location 14″ and the method mayrepeat itself until the employee 12 has finished his or her shift. Inone preferred embodiment, the employee 12 optionally contacts the mainprocessing unit 16 upon leaving the client's location 14′ using anymethod described above (act 320) and enters his/her PIN (act 330). Themain processing unit 16 then preferably records this data (act 340) andverifies the data against the employee's 12 parameters (act 350). Theact of verifying the data (act 350) is preferably substantially the sameas act 270 described in greater detail herein.

As discussed above, the present invention verifies whether the definedemployee 12 parameters (e.g. expectations about the scheduled contactthe employee is supposed to have with the system 16) have been met (act270). By confirming whether the parameters (expectations) have been met(act 270), the system verifies and helps ensure that the employee is atthe proper job site and awake at the time he/she calls into the system.The effectiveness of the employee 12 is therefore increased and theemployer can try to increase the possibility that the employee 12 is atwork when he/she is supposed to be. Referring specifically to FIG. 3,the verification act (act 270) preferably includes determining whetherthe employee 12 logs into the main processing unit 16 within or at theallotted time period defined in act 220 (decision 400) and whether theemployee 12 is at the proper location 14 set in act 220 (decision 410).If both of these conditions (decisions 400 and 410) are met, then theparameters are deemed to have been satisfied (act 450) and no furtheraction is preferably taken. If either of these conditions (decisions 400and 410) is not met, the parameters are deemed not to have beensatisfied (act 420).

The identity of the employee 12 is preferably determined based on thePIN entered by the employee 12 (act 440). The act of determining whetherthe employee 12 contacts the main processing unit 16 within the allottedtime period (decision 400) is preferably performed by comparing thepredetermined time period parameter (430) established in act 220 withthe time that the employee 12 contacts the main processing unit 16. Ofcourse, if the employee 12 fails to contact the central processing unit16, this parameter (decision 400) is not satisfied and the parametersare not met (act 420). The act of determining whether the employee 12 isat the proper location 14 (decision 410) preferably includes identifyingthe current location 14 of the employee 12 (act 465) and comparing itwith the location data established in act 220. The current location 14is preferably determined (act 465) using automatic number identification(ANI) or similar data available from a telephone or cell phone andlooking up that information in the system's 16 database. In the eventthat either of these parameters is not met (act 420), the presentinvention (at steps 480, 490) may either immediately attempt to contacta third party 30, FIG. 1 such as a supervisor, family member or othercaregiver; log the information and generate a report at the end of ashift for a supervisor which may be printed, emailed, faxed or otherwisemade available to the supervisor/caregiver or other responsible party.Such a report can be scanned and organized by the responsible party.

For example, the verification system 10 may attempt to contact thelocation 14 which the employee 12 is supposed to be located (act 460),may attempt to contact the employee 12 (act 470), notify a supervisor ormanager (act 480), and/or notify 490 the emergency contacts (familymember, support agency, police, fire, paramedics, etc.). Theverification system 10 may attempt to contact any of the above by usingany method known to those skilled in the art including, but not limitedto, telephone, email, fax, page, text message or the like.

The parameters defined in act 220 also preferably include triggeringevents/criteria that define which of the acts (acts 460, 470, 480, 490)are performed and when. For example, the triggering events may definethat a call should be first placed to the employee 12 within the first15 minutes. If no response is received, then a message (such as anemail) is sent to the supervisor and a call is placed to the location14″ where the employee 12 is supposed to be (and optionally the location14′ where the employee 12 was previously). If no response is receivedwithin 30 minutes, emergency contacts may be notified.

By verifying that the employee 12 logs in at the correct time andlocation (decision 400 and 410), the safety of the patient(s) and theeffectiveness of the employee is increased. For example, by monitoringthe time and location of the employee 12 through the employee's scheduleallows others to know where the employee is/was throughout the day andwhether the employee was awake during each or many parts of his shift.In the event that the employee 12 fails to satisfy these parameters(decisions 400 and 410), appropriate steps 480, 490 (for example) can betaken to safeguard the patient and/or employee 12. Additionally, theemployer can monitor performance of the employee 12 and ensure that theemployee is performing all of his/her duties at the appropriate locationand time.

To that end, embodiments of the present invention generate variousreports, automated employer alerts/messages and other output, andprovide to the employer ready access to collected data from theforegoing monitoring the employee. The collected data serves as thirdparty verification of the employee's presence (location, whereabouts, orthe like) and state of being awake (alertness, effectiveness, etc.) Forexample, each monitored data triplet includes employee identifier (PIN),date/time and location information (phone number employee is callingfrom, positional latitude/longitude, etc.). FIG. 4 further illustratesthe data captured by the present invention monitoring.

System Architecture

In one embodiment, the contact center (main processing unit) 16 utilizesa phone conferencing bridge 41 (FIG. 4) to receive the employee phonecalls. Preferably the phone conferencing bridge 41 is based oninteractive voice response (IVR) technology. IVR is a telephonytechnology in which a user uses a touch-tone telephone to interact witha database to acquire information from or enter data into the database.In each instance (employee phone call), the phone conferencing subsystem41 answers the employees phone call, captures the PIN entered by theemployee during the phone call, and records the brief message voiced bythe employee as part of the phone call. The phone conferencing subsystem41 also records date and time of the phone call as well as location thatthe phone call came from (i.e., a detected phone number that theemployee is calling from, or similar information).

The phone conferencing subsystem 41 packetizer otherwise forms the datatriplets (tuples) with each employee call into the bridge conferencingphone number. In turn, the phone conferencing subsystem 41 forwards eachdata triplet to a data engine 43. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the datatuple preferably includes employee PIN or user identifier, date/time,indication of location and an audio snippet of the employee's voicemessage.

Data engine 43 parses the data triplets (tuples) in response to phoneconferencing subsystem 41 output. Data Engine 43 maps the parsed data todatabase tables, records and rows and columns for storage. For example,using an employee-ID table, the employee entered PIN number is mappedand transferred to the spelled out version of the employee's name. UsingCaller ID technology, the phone number of the phone that the employeeused to place the call is mapped to the corresponding street address orsimilar geographic location. The audio snippet is matched against aprerecording of the employee's voice (at 210) using IP telephony or VOIPtechnology. Each of these elements (spelled out version of employeesname, location address, date/time and audio snippet with verified matchflag) are stored in the database 45. The database server 45 hosts asearchable database system, for example, of SQL, Oracle, relational orother type of database.

A preferred architectural implementation specifically in regard to thehandling of voice communications, is shown in greater detail in FIG. 5.In this example implementation, phone calls come into a telephony serversystem 502 through an 800 number on a T-1 line, such as Paetec PrimaryRate Interface (PRI) T-1 lines. The telephony server 502 accesses the800 number's DNS digits, processes the PRI called ID tag, and from theDNS digits knows to play the associated recording and then prompt forthe 4-digit employee ID code. The employee caller enters in their IDcode and the telephony server 502 passes this out a port HTTP to anapplication server 506, then the application server requests a lookup ofthe ID in the database server 45. An application server system 506,implemented using a conventional application server computer platformand executing a standard distribution of the Linux Operating System,provides for the execution of the phone application programs. Thedatabase server 45 verifies that this is an active code and respondsback to the application server 506, which instructs the telephony server502 to play the option for the caller to leave a message.

The telephony server 502 is told that what is coming next is a voicemessage and the voice message is handed off to a cluster of NFS servers508. The information collected by the phone and app servers 502, 506 isstored on the database servers 45. When a web lookup is performed by thesupervisors, for example, in the portal 520, the web application in theapplication server 506 accesses the content in the database server 45and displays it in the databases form specified according to thesupervisors' respective preferences. When an e-mail notification to thesupervisors is sent out, the e-mail program in the application server506 sends out to an SMTP cluster and Paetec sends it out through anEthernet handoff, preferably implemented by Budget Conferencingtechnology (Budget 6.0M).

The telephony server system 502 executes a computer telephonyintegration application that, in combination with the voice packetizer504, preferably implements the interactive voice response (IVR) system500 that allows the telephony server system 502 to effectively handleand respond to incoming voice calls (e.g. awake overnight telephonecalls from employees). The information gathered from the awake overnighttelephone calls, among otherdata, includes:

-   -   (1) Dual Tone Multi-Frequency, the system used by touch-tone        telephones, of the ID that the overnight staff employee types in        after the telephony server plays our message;    -   (2) DTMF of a second security code; and    -   (3) The originating telephone number or caller ID of the caller.

The telephony server 502 prompts the awake overnight staff employee withan option to leave a message. This is handled by the IVR system 500

Voice Extensible Markup Language (XML) can be used in connection with,among other things, the voice rendition and recording of spoken inputprocess. Voice XML is generally designed for creating audio dialogs thatfeature synthesized speech, digitized audio, recognition of spoken andDTMF Key Input, recording of spoken input, telephony, and mixedinitiative conversations. Voice XML is an industry standard protocol forIVR.

Alert System

Because the invention uses IVR technology, the inventive system canprovide a more comprehensive, versatile and faster system, compared withprior systems that use a traditional conference bridge with an SMDR datafeed to a database server. SMDR data feeds, for example, are generallynot on a real-time conferencing bridge and, therefore, it is typicallyonly practical to run batch files once an hour or half hour.

The system 540 (alert system) can provide, however, real-timenotification, where the supervisor is notified with an alert inreal-time when a staff member is late for a call. Supervisors can usevarious computing components 530, such as cell phones, PDAs, etc. toaccess and receive these notifications. Such real-time notifications canbe set individually with different times per customer and per time zone.The system 540 can delay alerts to supervisors based in a specified timewindow to allow a staff member extra time to call the system 540 if thestaff member is running late with his or her scheduled call-in.

With prior systems that rely on a traditional conferencing bridge, areal-time alert system 16, 540 would generally be very difficult, if notimpossible, to program individually for every customer. Further withoutusing IVR technology, the system 16, 540 would likely not be able toimplement a web-based portal 520 of the calls made per house, maintainedin real-time. With the system 16, 540, supervisors who receive an e-mailnotification of a missed call (Real-time Notification) can go to the webportal 520 and determine if a call was made later in the hour.

In this way, the inventive employee monitoring system provides an alertsystem 540. If staff do not call when they are expected, the alertsystem 540 sends to a supervisor an e-mail saying that a call, forexample, is at least 15 minutes late. Supervisors interface with thealert system 540 using the portal 520. The invention can include afeature that directs the system 16, 540 to automatically call the homeif staff are late with their phone calls. These reminders will encouragethe staff to call and check-in with the system. The invention also caninclude an option to automate an outbound telephone call to alert agencysupervisors to a potential problem if staff does not call in.

Thus, the present invention can provide, for example, an awake overnightreporting system for monitoring the care-giving staff for health andhuman services organizations. The awake-overnight staff calls an 800number hourly during the night and enters an ID code and a PIN Code toprove that they are on site and awake. Preferably, they have to callfrom the house phone, which the system 16, 540 monitors by capturing thecaller id of these calls. Staff callers are also asked to record theirname, which can be stored in a sound file, such as a wave file, so thatagency supervisors can confirm the caller's identity through anauthentication process. From these calls, the invention generatesreal-time reports accessible through an Intranet portal of missed andreceived calls. Missed messages can be sent out, and call reports can beautomatically sent to supervisors and the like via e-mail.

Portal System

The present invention provides a user-interface to search and retrievedata from the database 45. The user-interface can be, for example, aweb-based portal 520. FIGS. 6A-6C are screenshots of the interface of anexample portal 520 according to an embodiment of the invention. Asupervisor or other user can use the portal 520 to search the database45 by employee name, date/time, location in question and the like. Thiscan be done substantially in real-time, during the employee's shift, orat other times.

Call Log, Calls Made

The supervisory staff can log onto the intranet site portal 520 withtheir username and password and view real-time all calls that staff havemade, organized by House. As shown in FIG. 6A, the fields include,Location Name 602, Staff Name 604, ID 606, Date and time 608 of call,and originating telephone number of call 610.

Missed Call Notification

There are several methods that can be used to advise supervisory staffabout awake overnight missed telephone calls. Missed calls are definedby the parameters specified by supervisory staff and are reported if thecalls are 15 minutes late from the expected time of receipt. Forinstance, if calls are expected hourly for an 11 AM to 7 PM shift everyhour between 12 PM and 6 AM, missed calls would be reported 15 minutesafter each hour between 12 PM and 6 AM.

If the system 16, 540 detects a missed call, the basic alert reportingsystem includes:

-   -   (a) the supervisors designated receive an e-mail saying        “SteadyCare (name of house) was scheduled for a check in at        (location), but it is currently at least 15 minutes late;” and    -   (b) supervisors can look at a real-time missed call reports 616        on the portal 520.

Enhanced alert features include:

-   -   (a) Text message notification via e-mail to cell phones;    -   (b) Outgoing telephone calls to the house phone to attempt to        wake staff up; and    -   (c) Outgoing telephone calls to supervisory staff on call that        night that lets them know a call was missed.        Portal Access and Daily/Monthly E-mail Reports

The system 16, 540 provides access for an agency's residentialsupervisors, directors, officers and HR staff to a powerful intranetportal 520. This portal 520 preferably shows the agency's residentialsupervisors all calls that awake overnight staff made for every house,all calls that were missed for every house, the location schedule forexpected call-ins. Administrative supervisors and staff have the optionto update to ID 606 correlations so that they know how their employeesids are designed, and to update originating telephone number 610 tolocation name correlations 602, and employees 604 and their workschedules in the organization's various homes. As featured reports, theresidential supervisors are immediately alerted to the last ten missedcalls 614 and the last ten made calls 618 to that house when they openthe portal 520 for the house so that they can quickly scan and checkentries.

The basic reporting system includes downloadable reports 616 from theportal intranet site for a daily e-mail report 612 that includes thelast ten missed calls 614 and the last ten received calls 618, which isautomatically e-mailed to the recipients designated by the organization.

An additional monthly report 720 (see FIG. 7A) is available that is sentautomatically that includes the calls made and missed for the entiremonth. This is primarily intended as an optional automated report forthe organization's Human Resources Director and staff.

The present awake overnight reporting/alert system 16, 540 maintains allmade and missed call logs, voice recordings, and voice mail messages for90 days. This information can be downloaded and saved by theorganization's supervisory staff at any time. Should the organizationwish to automate this process further, a monthly e-mail report can beprovided that includes the excel report of all made and missed calls forthe agency by house, and is sortable by any field as shown in FIG. 7A.Similarly, FIG. 7B is an example of a daily e-mail report 740 generatedby the alert system 540.

End-User Programmable Portal Features

Preferably, the system 16, 540 assigns one lead person and a backupwithin the organization to have full access to make their ownmodifications to the program using the portal intranet site 530. Thisperson has the ability to make the following modifications, and access aspecial calls-made report 616:

-   -   (a) Edit 648 the call schedule 640, which provides hours of        scheduled check-ins at all homes (screenshot in FIG. 6C shows        the edit the call schedule 640 screen that appears in the portal        520 in response to selecting Edit 648);    -   (b) Add 642 or subtract employees 652 at different houses,        allowing the ability to fill-in and schedule employees who work        at multiple homes and to account for more than one person at a        home;    -   (c) Change or add e-mail addresses 646 and phone numbers for        alert notification purposes;    -   (d) Change employee names 604, house names 602, and what        originating telephone number 622 is associated with what house        602;    -   (e) The ability to search employee check-ins by ID 606 makes it        possible to find and evaluate an employee who works in several        homes, especially for HR purposes;    -   (f) The ability to search for data on a call based on        originating telephone number 610 or house 622, where overnight        staff did not complete the entering of their ID and PIN code.        Here, the dates and times of calls are recorded and noted by the        house telephone number 622, but do not know who made the call.        Voice Recording Capability

The system 16, 540 is designed to include an additional verificationfeature where awake overnight staff is prompted to leave recordings oftheir names as part of the check-in procedure. Supervisors and HR teamof the organization can optionally listen 624 to these recordings toprove by the sound of the voice which staff member made the call. Theyare available on the portal intranet site 420 and are downloadable aswave files.

In one embodiment, an authentication software process can be provided aspart of a component of the interactive voice response system 500. Theauthentication process can compare at least a portion of the employeerecording with a previously stored sample of the employee's voice. Theauthentication process can confirm the authenticity of the employeerecording by verifying that the portion of the employee audio data andthe previously stored employee voice sample are substantially the same.

Leave Voice Mail Messages

The portal 520 has a feature that is designed as an optional means ofcommunication between the organization's awake overnight staff andsupervisors checking call logs on our intranet site. The option isprovided for awake overnight staff to leave a message for supervisors atthe end of their awake check-in call. Managers/supervisors can listen526 to these as a wave file. This can be information about overnightclient issues, house management details, etc. For example, the staff canuse this feature to leave messages explaining why they may have missed acall.

Capturing Calls Made to the System

The present invention provides a very sophisticated, flexible, andaccurate call-in system. Preferably, the system 16, 540 captures theoriginating telephone number of every call-in that is made to the 800number as long as the telephone company for the house phone providesoutbound caller id information.

If the organization's awake overnight staff call the 800 number and thenhangs up the phone, the system 16, 540 will track that the call made,and the organization's designated lead can search for this information.

Secure Database

Where the data of database 45 is generated and maintained by automatedmeans (e.g. 41, 43, see FIG. 4), data integrity is of one of the highestdegrees. The call logs stored in the database 45 provide a third partyverification log, which can be particularly useful, for example, asevidence in litigation to show whether an employee was at the expectedlocation and properly made the scheduled call-ins to the system.Further, the audio snippets produced by the employees' phone calls add afurther level of corroboration (verification) generally unachieved inconventional systems. The database 45 and portal system 520 are designedso that staff employees cannot access the data. Thus, the presentinvention provides a truly “third party” viable, optimally guardedagainst manipulation and tampering, verification system.

Other Example Implementations

Although the inventive employee monitoring system can be used in anyindustry, it is particularly useful for health and human servicesorganizations whose staff take care of the sick, mentally ill, childrenfor adoption, etc. In addition, in-home health care staffing agenciescan use the inventive system as a time clock tool for timesheet andbilling management.

Accordingly, systems and methods are provided for verifying that arespective employee is at the appropriate location and awake during hisor her shift. The systems and methods receive a set of parameters andthus verify that the subject employee is awake or appropriately inferredto be active at the proper location and at the proper time. The systemsand methods also increase the patient's safety and/or awareness of theemployee's awake and geographically present status by taking appropriateaction in the event that the employee does not satisfy the definedparameters.

It is understood that the main processing unit 16 (communication devices22) may include one or multiple computers. Parallel or distributed orother processing architectures may be employed. FIG. 8 is a diagram ofthe internal structure of a computer (e.g., client processor/device 22,16 or server computers 16) in the computer system of FIGS. 1, 4 and 5.Each computer 22, 16 contains system bus 79, where a bus is a set ofhardware lines used for data transfer among the components of a computeror processing system. Bus 79 is essentially a shared conduit thatconnects different elements of a computer system (e.g., processor, diskstorage, memory, input/output ports, network ports, etc.) that enablesthe transfer of information between the elements. Attached to system bus79 is I/O device interface 82 for connecting various input and outputdevices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, displays, printers, speakers, etc.) tothe computer 16, 22. Network interface 86 allows the computer to connectto various other devices attached to a network (e.g., network 18 ofFIGS. 1, 5 and 6). Memory 90 provides volatile storage for computersoftware instructions 92 and data 94 used to implement an embodiment ofthe present invention (e.g., phone conferencing bridge operations 41,data engine 43, database 45, and other system 10 code/functions andoperations detailed above). Disk storage 95 provides non-volatilestorage for computer software instructions 92 and data 94 used toimplement an embodiment of the present invention. Central processor unit84 is also attached to system bus 79 and provides for the execution ofcomputer instructions.

In one embodiment, the processor routines 92 and data 94 are a computerprogram product (generally referenced 92), including a computer readablemedium (e.g., a removable storage medium such as one or more DVD-ROM's,CD-ROM's, diskettes, tapes, etc.) that provides at least a portion ofthe software instructions for the invention system. Computer programproduct 92 can be installed by any suitable software installationprocedure, as is well known in the art. In another embodiment, at leasta portion of the software instructions may also be downloaded over acable, communication and/or wireless connection. In other embodiments,the invention programs are a computer program propagated signal productembodied on a propagated signal on a propagation medium (e.g., a radiowave, an infrared wave, a laser wave, a sound wave, or an electricalwave propagated over a global network such as the Internet, or othernetwork(s)). Such carrier medium or signals provide at least a portionof the software instructions for the present invention routines/program92.

In alternate embodiments, the propagated signal is an analog carrierwave or digital signal carried on the propagated medium. For example,the propagated signal may be a digitized signal propagated over a globalnetwork (e.g., the Internet), a telecommunications network, or othernetwork. In one embodiment, the propagated signal is a signal that istransmitted over the propagation medium over a period of time, such asthe instructions for a software application sent in packets over anetwork over a period of milliseconds, seconds, minutes, or longer. Inanother embodiment, the computer readable medium of computer programproduct 92 is a propagation medium that the computer system may receiveand read, such as by receiving the propagation medium and identifying apropagated signal embodied in the propagation medium, as described abovefor computer program propagated signal product.

Generally speaking, the term “carrier medium” or transient carrierencompasses the foregoing transient signals, propagated signals,propagated medium, storage medium and the like.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreferences to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the inventionencompassed by the appended claims.

For example, the present invention may be implemented in a variety ofcomputer architectures. The computer network and architecture of FIGS. 4and 5 are for purposes of illustration and not limitation of the presentinvention.

As mentioned above, the present invention is not intended to be limitedto a system or method which must satisfy one or more of any stated orimplied object or feature of the invention and should not be limited tothe preferred, exemplary, or primary embodiments described herein. Theforegoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention hasbeen presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light ofthe above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described to providethe best illustration of the principles of the invention and itspractical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the artto utilize the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as is suited to the particular use contemplated. All suchmodifications and variations are within the scope of the invention.

It is important to note that the present invention is not intended to belimited to a system or method which must satisfy one or more of anystated objects or features of the invention. It is also important tonote that the present invention is not limited to the preferred,exemplary, or primary embodiments described herein. Modifications andsubstitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to bewithin the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An application server system configured tofacilitate employee monitoring, the application server systemcomprising: an interactive voice response (IVR) system, executing on oneor more computer processors, configured to computationally processelectronic employee identification data to determine associated time andgeographic location parameters; an alert system executing on one or moreprocessors, in communication with the interactive voice response (IVR)system, the alert system configured to generate a real-time electronicalert in response to a potential problem condition detected usingdefined expectation parameters associated with the electronic employeeidentification data that are not satisfied, the defined expectationparameters including at least one of: a scheduled location from whichthe electronic employee identification data is expected to be received,or a scheduled time at which the electronic employee identification datais expected to be received; the alert system configured to transmit theelectronic alert at expiration of a delay period, such that thetransmission of the electronic alert is delayed for a period of time toallow the employee additional time to cure the potential problemcondition; the interactive voice response (IVR) system configured toattempt to contact the employee during the delay period by transmittingone or more electronic communications directed to the employee; and thealert system configured to transmit the electronic alert, after theexpiration of the delay period, the electronic alert being transmittedif the potential problem condition is not cured at the expiration of thedelay period.
 2. The application server system as in claim 1 wherein thedefined expectation parameters associated with the electronic employeeidentification data are not satisfied if at least one of the followingoccurs: the employee identification data is not received from thescheduled location, or the employee identification data is not receivedby the scheduled time, or no employee identification data is received.3. The application server system as in claim 2 further includingdetermining that the employee identification data is not received fromthe scheduled location by: determining a geographical locationassociated with the employee identification data; comparing thedetermined geographical location with the scheduled location; anddetermining the determined geographical location and the scheduledlocation are not substantially the same.
 4. The application serversystem as in claim 3 wherein the geographical location is determinedusing, at least in part, information about a geographical location of adevice from which the employee identification data originates.
 5. Theapplication server system as in claim 1 wherein the scheduled locationis at least one respective work site at which the employee is expected.6. The application server system as in claim 1 wherein the interactivevoice response (IVR) system is configured to computationally process theemployee identification data by: forming, using a data engine, a datatuple in response to an incoming communication from the employee, thedata tuple including at one of: the employee's PIN, or employee's useridentifier, or date/time parameters, geographical location, or voicemessage, or text message; where the data tuple is employeeidentification data that received by the interactive voice responsesystem (IVR) and compared with the defined expectation parameters toassess whether a potential problem condition is present.
 7. Theapplication server system as in claim 1 wherein the potential problemcondition is cured if the employee identification data is received bythe expiration of the delay period, where the delay period is athreshold.
 8. The application server system as in claim 7 wherein thethreshold is fifteen minutes.
 9. The application server system as inclaim 1 further including an administrator profile implementationprocess enabling an administrator to define preferences for receivingelectronic alerts in real-time.
 10. The application server system as inclaim 9 further including an administrator notification preferenceenabling the supervisor to define the type of electronic alert to bereceived, where the type of alert is at least one of the following: aninstant message, text message, a telephone call, voicemail message, oran email.
 11. The application server system as in claim 9 wherein thedefined administrator preferences in the alert system are specified by asupervisor of the employee using a web-based interface to the alertsystem.
 12. The application server system as in claim 11 wherein theexpectation parameters are defined by the supervisor using the web-basedportal interface.
 13. The application server system as in claim 12further including the telephony server system, interfacing with a voicepacketizer, the telephony server system executing a computer telephonyintegration application that, in combination with the voice packetizer,implements the interactive voice response (IVR) system enabling thetelephony server system to handle and monitor incoming communicationsfrom the employee.
 14. The application server system as in claim 1wherein the interactive voice response (IVR) system enables the alertsystem to generate real-time electronic alerts.
 15. The applicationserver system as in claim 1 wherein the employee identification dataincludes a representation of the employee's voice; the system furtherincluding: an authentication process, in communication with theinteractive voice response (IVR) system, comparing at least a portion ofthe employee identification data with a previously stored sample of theemployee's voice; and the authentication process confirming theauthenticity of the employee identification data by verifying that theat least one portion of the employee identification data and thepreviously stored employee voice sample are substantially the same. 16.The application server system as in claim 1 wherein the determinedlocation is based on a detected phone number that the employee iscalling from.
 17. The application server system as in claim 1 whereinthe employee is unsupervised while working at the scheduled location,and the employee is monitored while working at the scheduled locationusing interactive voice response system (IVR).
 18. The applicationserver system as in claim 1 wherein the alert system is designed tointentionally delay the electronic alert during the delay period toallow the employee additional time to call into the interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system.
 19. The application server system as in claim 1wherein during the delay period, the interactive voice response system(IVR) attempting to contact the employee by sending one or morecommunications to the scheduled location where the employee is supposedto be; and if no response to the one or more communications is received,the alert system transmitting the electronic alert.
 20. The applicationserver system as in claim 1 wherein the alert system is component of theIVR system.
 21. The application server system as in claim 1 wherein theemployee is any person working for another person or a business, wherethe employee is any staff member, independent contractor or agent. 22.The application server system of monitoring employees as in claim 1wherein the electronic communication directed to the employee includesthe interactive voice response (IVR) system sending the electroniccommunication via a text message to a device associated with theemployee, or an email to a device associated with the employee, or acall to a device associated with the employee, or a call to a deviceassociated with the scheduled location at which the employee is supposedto be present.
 23. The application server system of monitoring employeesas in claim 1 wherein the application server system is a telephonyapplication server.
 24. The application server system of monitoringemployees as in claim 1 wherein the telephony application serverexecutes a computer telephony integration application that, incombination with a voice packetizer, implements the interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system.
 25. A computer telephony integration systemconfigured to facilitate employee monitoring, the system comprising: adata engine in communication with an interactive voice response (IVR)system, which is configured to computationally process electronicemployee identification data to determine associated time and geographiclocation parameters; the data engine configured to receive at least onereal-time alert in response to a potential problem condition detectedusing defined expectation parameters associated with the electronicemployee identification data that are not satisfied, the definedexpectation parameters including at least one of: a scheduled locationfrom which the electronic employee identification data is expected to bereceived, or a scheduled time at which the electronic employeeidentification data is expected to be received; wherein the electronicalert is generated using the interactive voice response system (IVR)with a delay period, such that the transmission of the electronic alertis delayed for a period of time to allow the employee additional time tocure the potential problem condition; the data engine configured toreceive the electronic alert, after the expiration of the delay period,the electronic alert being transmitted to the data engine if thepotential problem condition is not cured at the expiration of the delayperiod.
 26. The computer telephony integration system as in claim 25wherein the data engine is executed by a mobile device of a supervisorof the employee.